Ahead of my time, but running late

ART: Takashi Murakami

I am a big fan of Murakami’s work, he is most famous for his work with Louis Vuitton, Pharrell Williams and Kanye West.

One of my favourite pieces of art work by Murakami is actually the single cover for Kanye West – Can’t Tell Me Nothing

The colours and effects really compliment each other on this stand-out piece, the central image is well created and it’s construction provides a lot of depth, it is far more than an arrangement of colourful swirls.

This ‘Geno’ piece, highlights Murakami’s intense detail and choice of potent colours, the beauty of such work is that they speak volumes, the clusters of colours and shapes, they create the bigger picture, the symbolism is vividly embedded as Murakami offers his portrayal of life.

The idea of the bright and attractive as the evil trapping us, in the form of a monster-like character, it is his unique style of portrayal which places Takashi Murakami among the elite in art.

He recently collaborated with Pharrell Williams, to create a piece representing the real value of items we take for granted.

The sculpture titled ‘The Simple Things’, was created with the help of ‘Jacob The Jeweler’ (Jacob & Co.), featuring seven consumer objects that Pharrell Williams considers important to him, such as a cupcake, a bag of Doritos, a bottle of Heinz ketchup, a Pepsi can, a sneaker, a condom, and a bottle of Johnson’s baby oil, all created with gold and encrusted with 26,000 rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds by Jacob. The objects/items are all placed in the mouth of the Murakami sculpture. ‘The Simple Things’ sold for €2 million ($2.8 million). An extremely expensive piece of art created to show the true value of items that we take for granted.

Takashi Murakami is an established and world-reknowned artist who is also one of the few to expand into fashion and music with his innovative and inspiring art.